Five US officials told the Washington Post that at least 22 service members have died since the conflict began on Feb. 28, surpassing the 18 fatalities listed in the Pentagon's public Defense Casualty Analysis System. A sixth official cited a toll of 23, though some of those deaths were not directly combat related. Three US contractors also died in the region during the war, and the Defense Department declined to address the data discrepancy.

More than 820 troops have been wounded in action, primarily from traumatic brain injuries caused by Iranian strikes. The administration reclassified renewed hostilities as Overseas Operations during the summer, around the time four combat deaths were temporarily excluded from the public tally. Two other fatalities, a medical emergency in Kuwait and a training accident in Iraq, occurred at bases targeted by Iran but remain uncounted in official totals.